It’s normal for a horse to overjump (or take extra effort) the next fence after hitting a rail or an awkward distance, but carrying it around course reads more like undiagnosed pain. The reason they get emotional is they are hurting doing the job as asked, but it really hurts when they have to exert their bodies and/or get out of a bad distance.
I would check his SI and back. When I hear the word ‘emotional’, it makes me suspect some degree of undiagnosed pain. YMMV.
Have you ever set up a jump chute for him? Something that at first will set him up for perfect distances, and then over time, remove those cues (ie placing/canter poles), then adjust distances so they’re an extra foot shorter or longer than a perfect distance for his stride.
He may really benefit from time being able to figure some of this out on his own, see that a little short or long isn’t going to harm him, etc
Actually, yes. I missed this. What are you correcting him for, and how?
Thanks. I often feel like a zombie poster.
We found out early that he is whip shy. He stopped at a small fence and my trainer used the stick behind her leg which sent him into a meltdown for the rest of the ride.
He was purchased in Europe and then sent to the west coast to compete. He did 1.20 meter but when I looked up his record, I saw a lot of DNP, which now I realize could be stops, and or eliminations? Prepurchase was super extensive and included neck and back with no findings. I guess since they moved him from the west coast to east coast to sell is a red (or yellow flag) that I should have done more digging.
What are your ultimate goals for him? I’m concerned that he’s this “emotional” with only cross rails and small verticals…
A horse who has done the 1.20s should not be stopping at small stuff, especially with your trainer. That combined with a meltdown - my spidey senses are going off that he may be hurting somewhere.
If he’s only having meltdowns or whatever you want to call it when the rider makes a mistake, I’d say that’s less likely pain (which would cause reactions jumping even with perfects spots and a perfect ride) and more likely mental, decompensation from pressure.
The horse would probably need a complete mental overhaul, getting out of the ring, trail riding, not jumping. For months, a year, and not then going back to the grind of arena jumping.
Hail Mary pass—have you checked his eyes?
10000% this. Sometimes they just need a German man to tell them everything is definitely OK. If you are in the mid-Atlantic, I have a name for you to contact. I don’t by any means mean harsh or rough; only completely confident and competent. It does so much more than any us usually realize to have someone like that in the tack.
A few things that worked for me with my similar behaving (but way more green than yours) horse:
Reframing how I viewed his behavior and recognizing that he was acting that way because he was insecure/worried. My guy does not come across as a nervous/insecure animal in general (actually comes off as very bold), so it wasn’t natural for me to think that way. I started incorporating way more reassurance when he was being good and really focused on building his confidence and setting him up for success. For example, he can get rushy/worried if he misses a change, so if I am doing a new/challenging excesses, I make sure to set him up to land on the lead. Another component of this is recognizing when to call it for the day and find a good note to end on, and/or pivot and work on something else.
It sounds like jumping is much more likely to set your guy off vs. flatting which is the same for me. I had to get out of the mindset of “today we are going to jump this course 5 times” and instead incorporate small amounts of jumping more frequently. I “jump” probably 90% of the time I ride, but on a flat day that may just be cantering a little cross rail a couple times and going right back to flat work. It has made jumping less of an event for him to get nervous about. And, there are days when I plan on jumping and after popping over a few I pivot to something else because I can tell he is on a track to get worked up (but over time those have become less and less).
I agree with Mcl1 - sounds like he’s worried about hitting things, perhaps because he’s been overly disciplined when he did.
I’d start over poles on the ground. Many horses from Europe don’t really understand what they’re doing at a fence - they’re just getting over it however they can. Poles on the ground are low-impact ways to see what they know about distances and their bodies (hint: hold for the deep, don’t go for the long). It might take a bit, but once they figure it out, it translates to jumping higher.
Give it some time. And consier another trainer - this is fairly basic stuff, and if they don’t know this, I’m sure there’s a lot else they don’t know.
DNP is did not place. If he was eliminated it would be E. If he had stops it will show up on the number of faults.
Bingo. Whatever…if it is fixable it will take very long time to unlearn what he has learned and reinstall a new system, if that is possible, which will dominate your free time and your wallet.
Do you really want that? Be honest. He is not any happier with you and your trainer than you are with him. You do not need to keep this up, somebody else will suit him better and be a better choice for his future.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
